CVE-2025-4576: Liferay DXP Reflected XSS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-4576 Overview

CVE-2025-4576 is a reflected cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability affecting Liferay Portal and Liferay Digital Experience Platform (DXP). The flaw resides in the blogs web module, specifically within entry_cover_image_caption.jsp, and allows unauthenticated remote attackers to inject JavaScript into responses rendered by the application. The vulnerability is categorized under [CWE-79] (Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation). Successful exploitation requires a victim to interact with a crafted URL, after which attacker-supplied script executes in the victim's browser session against the vulnerable Liferay host.

Critical Impact
Unauthenticated attackers can craft URLs that execute arbitrary JavaScript in the context of the victim's session, enabling session theft, phishing, and unauthorized actions against the Liferay portal.

Affected Products

Liferay Portal 7.4.0 through 7.4.3.133
Liferay DXP 2025.Q1.0 through 2025.Q1.4, 2024.Q4.0 through 2024.Q4.7, 2024.Q3.1 through 2024.Q3.13, 2024.Q2.0 through 2024.Q2.13, 2024.Q1.1 through 2024.Q1.15
Liferay DXP 7.4 GA through update 92

Discovery Timeline

2025-08-08 - CVE-2025-4576 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-4576

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability is a reflected XSS in the Liferay Blogs application. The affected component is modules/apps/blogs/blogs-web/src/main/resources/META-INF/resources/blogs/entry_cover_image_caption.jsp. This JSP renders user-controllable input tied to a blog entry's cover image caption without sufficient output encoding. When the parameter value is echoed into the HTML response, attacker-supplied markup and script are interpreted by the browser rather than treated as literal text.

Because the endpoint does not require authentication, an external attacker can craft a malicious link that targets any victim with access to the portal. When the victim follows the link, the injected JavaScript executes within the origin of the vulnerable Liferay instance. Impact is scoped to confidentiality of session data and integrity of the rendered page.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient contextual output encoding in the JSP responsible for rendering the blog entry cover image caption. User-controlled data is emitted directly into the HTML body without HTML entity escaping, allowing <script> tags and event-handler attributes supplied via request parameters to be rendered as executable markup.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires no privileges. An attacker constructs a URL containing a payload targeting the vulnerable JSP endpoint on a Liferay Portal or DXP instance. The attacker delivers this URL via phishing, social media, or embedded links in third-party sites. When a user with an active portal session opens the link, the reflected payload executes in the browser, allowing the attacker to steal cookies, perform actions on behalf of the user, or redirect traffic to attacker-controlled infrastructure. See the Liferay Security Advisory CVE-2025-4576 for vendor-provided technical details.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-4576

Indicators of Compromise

Web server access logs containing requests to entry_cover_image_caption.jsp with query parameters that include HTML tags, <script>, onerror=, onload=, or URL-encoded equivalents such as %3Cscript%3E.
Referrer headers pointing to unfamiliar external domains preceding requests to blogs endpoints.
Unusual outbound requests from browser sessions to attacker-controlled hosts shortly after users interacted with Liferay blog links.

Detection Strategies

Deploy web application firewall (WAF) rules that inspect query strings and POST bodies targeting Liferay blogs URLs for XSS signatures.
Enable and review Liferay portal audit logs to correlate anomalous request parameters against user sessions.
Hunt in proxy and SIEM data for requests to /blogs/entry_cover_image_caption.jsp containing script-tag or event-handler patterns.

Monitoring Recommendations

Alert on HTTP requests to Liferay blogs endpoints where parameters contain angle brackets, javascript:, or common XSS keywords.
Monitor for browser-side Content Security Policy (CSP) violation reports referencing inline script blocks originating from Liferay pages.
Track authentication anomalies such as session reuse from unexpected IP addresses following user visits to crafted blog URLs.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-4576

Immediate Actions Required

Apply the fix documented in the Liferay Security Advisory CVE-2025-4576 to all affected Portal and DXP instances.
Inventory Liferay Portal and DXP deployments and confirm versions against the affected ranges above.
Rotate session tokens and administrative credentials for any instance where exploitation is suspected.

Patch Information

Liferay has published guidance and fixed builds in its security advisory. Upgrade Liferay Portal beyond 7.4.3.133 and apply the corresponding DXP quarterly release or update level that supersedes the affected versions listed above. Refer to the vendor advisory for the exact fixed release identifiers applicable to each maintenance track.

Workarounds

Restrict access to the Liferay blogs application at the reverse proxy or WAF layer until patching is complete.
Deploy a strict Content Security Policy that disallows inline scripts and unapproved script sources to limit the impact of reflected XSS.
Configure WAF signatures to block requests containing script tags or JavaScript event handlers in parameters routed to entry_cover_image_caption.jsp.

bash

# Example WAF rule (ModSecurity) to block XSS patterns targeting the vulnerable JSP
SecRule REQUEST_URI "@contains /blogs/entry_cover_image_caption.jsp" \
    "phase:2,chain,deny,status:403,id:1004576,msg:'Potential CVE-2025-4576 XSS attempt'"
    SecRule ARGS "@rx (?i)(<script|onerror=|onload=|javascript:|%3Cscript)" \
        "t:none,t:urlDecodeUni"